Odin, Buffy and other feline home dwellers

Well, I am writing the outcome and conclusion of Buffy's visit here far sooner than I expected. Her owners were meant to go on holidays, some issues with the tickets and the schedule made them miss their flight. So they got Buffy back this evening. I have a confession to make: I am glad it was shortened like this. Because Buffy did not settle well here. In fact, she did not settle at all. She whined a lot, was restless and jumping nervously everywhere and at any time. When she was calm, she spent time underneath the table or behind the washing machine. When she was calm. if not, she was meowing plaintively. We went to bed early and she woke us in the middle of the night. She did ask for cuddles and attentions, but overall she was restless and far too nervous.

I can't help but compare her first (and most likely last) time here with Odin's.  It took him about five minutes to be settled. He had a walk around the flat, sniffed here and there, curious but not afraid one bit, then he just found his favourite spot (the place on the sofa where I usually sit) and just sat down there. And that was it. He meowed for cuddles, food and to go outside sometimes, but he was never spooked here. I am not blaming Buffy: she was brought up differently, in one family, she has  always been not only a house cat, but a one house cat. Odin had ever been the wanderer, moving from Florida to here, then adopting us. He chose to move here, he asked for it. All the same, even though I love all cats, I do think that we are meant for certain cats more than others. And, while I enjoyed sometimes Buffy's presence, it made me miss my little boy more. I decided to show one of the few pics I haven't published yet of him. You can see him lying down next to me, taking as much space as he could and clawing me a bit so I would give him a bit of my seat for his legs. Odin's presence can still be felt in the house: Buffy was sniffing the bit of the floor where he used to lie down.

A feline guest

This is Buffy, the cat of the daughter of a friend of my wife. I blogged about her before, because apparently I have the same eyes as hers. Who is currently our host for a week, because her owners are going away on holidays. We accepted not only to be helpful, but because we thought it would be nice to have a cat in the house again. That said, I am not sure we should have said yes. Buffy is cute, but she is no Odin. And I don't think she is enjoying it here very much. She whined a lot when her owners left and she discovered that she was going to be here for a while, now she is just lying down behind the washing machine. But what saddened us the more was to see the daughter crying non stop when she had to leave her cat. We are trying to help them, yet we feel guilty about it. The girl also left us some very strict rules, which I wanted to write down here, because they are so darn cute:

"Rulse for Buff

1.She needs to be played with once a day in the afternoon.
2.You can't pick her up or she will scrach.
3.She is not alouwd to lay down on boys as shes a girl.
4.She needs to be fed 3 times a day biscits in the marnin, biscits in the evning and meat in the afternoon.
5.Her litter bax neds to be cleand out after she poops.
6.Only let her go in the kitchen and living room Do Not let her in eny bathrooms or bed rooms if you do I Will be very angry.

Thank for readin the Rulse of Buff"

Cute isn't it? She does not want Buffy to get too attached and wanting to stay here. I don't think there is any danger for us to keep Buffy anyway. I love all cats, but some cats more than others and I do think there are cats that are meant for us and cats that are not. I still hope she will warm up to us.

The eyes of a cat

I recently received two compliments from the daughter of a friend of my wife two of the nicest compliments someone ever gave me. Seriously. The girl is eight or nine years old, a tomboy who loves horror stories and monsters, especially vampires. A week ago, my wife and I were at their place and she told me: "You have the exact same eyes as Buffy!" Buffy is her beloved kitty cat, named after... well, this Buffy. It was partially a clever manipulation: she said this right after she had told us she could open the window of her bedroom wide open and sit on the edge of the window, which we were telling her was really dangerous. Eager to change topic, she said that thing. We told her parents afterwards, to make sure she wouldn't do something dangerous.

Anyway, I thought it was sheer manipulation from her part and that she would keep a grudge at me not falling for it, but later on this week I saw her and her dad when I was walking home. I asked for a cuddle and to my surprise (and her dad's) she gave me one. Later on, her mum said to my wife that she never even give cuddles to her own grandmother, or to many adults apart from her parents. When asked by her mother why she did that, she answered: "Because Guillaume is like the man version of me." Which I may have found even more touching. Anyway, two compliments, one about a cat, the other one about a likeness to her, and the context of these compliments make me qualify them as great unknown lines.